Warzone News: Week of June 15

Resource of the Week: Vision of Humanity has released it’s annual Global Peace Index, which ranks countries from most to least peaceful. This year, Iceland topped the list while Syria was ranked least peaceful.

In Afghanistan, the resurgence of the Taliban in recent months could undermine progress made in the country. Pakistan has closed it’s main crossing with Afghanistan after clashes that killed one and injured 22. A former president of Afghanistan criticized the US military’s ongoing role in the country, saying military action won’t bring peace. World leaders are likely to approve plans to keep some NATO bases open in Afghanistan.

In Central African Republic, members of the Lord’s Resistance Army have kidnapped 29 people over the last week.

In Iraq, the UN has announced that up to 90,000 civilians could be trapped in Fallujah as the battle for the city rages on. On Sunday, the Iraqi army secured a route for escape from Fallujah. Thousands of people are expected to flee the city in the coming days. Authorities are looking into accusations that Shiite militiamen executed 50 Sunni men in Fallujah after the men had surrendered. The Iraqi army retook the village of Mosul three months after the beginning of the military campaign to gain control of the city. Iraqis tell their stories of fleeing Mosul, a city that had been held by ISIS for two years.

In Israel and Palestine, three people were killed in a shooting at a market in Tel Aviv. Israel has responded by sending more troops into the West Bank and denying permit requests from Palestinians seeking to visit family inside Israel for Ramadan. Israel’s national water company has limited the supply of water into the West Bank.

In Libya, a suicide bomber killed three people at a hospital near the city of Sirte.

In Nigeria, people displaced by Boko Haram are finding ways of starting businesses in the camps where they live. Boko Haram killed four and kidnapped three women in the same area where two years ago the group kidnapped over 200 girls.

In Somalia, the UN is urging Kenya to push back it’s November deadline for closing refugee camps, saying it needs more time to relocate refugees.

In South Sudan, the country’s leaders are calling for the cancellation of a court that would seek justice for victims impacted by the war. Rights groups are criticizing this decision, saying the country’s leadership is “attempting to evade justice.” The US and Britain have also added their support for the court, which South Sudan’s leaders committed to as part of a peace deal.

In Syria, Palestinians living in the Yarmouk refugee camp near Damascus must risk their lives to fetch aid, as the UN is unable to deliver it to the camp. The Syria Democratic Forces, backed by the US, have set their sights on taking the city of Manbij from ISIS. During the first week of Ramadan, a holy month of fasting for Muslims, 224 people were killed in Syria.

In Yemen, the controversy continues over the blacklisting, and then removal, of Saudi Arabia over rights abuses against children. A number of human rights groups are urging the head of the U.N. to put Saudi Arabia back on the blacklist. The collapse of basic services is fueling a separatist movement in southern Yemen.